This week: January 23, 2026 - NBRC - TBA
Last Week Tammy Schmidt talked about the Friendly Visitor Program under The Mental Health Association of Montgomery County. The Friendly Visitor Program is staffed by volunteers that visit clients that are mostly over 70 (and 60% over 80) that live in their own homes, group homes, or assisted living facilities. Common among the aged is depression, grief, loneliness, and limited resources.
Volunteers must be 21 or over; enjoy the company of seniors; are good listener; attend volunteer orientation and on going training: and visit an hour a week and commit to a year of service. The Program’s goals are to relieve loneliness, help clients remain in the community, and monitor their health.
Dr Katherine James proposed year-round education in secondary schools. Dr James, as a teacher and principle in Montgomery schools, observed that after summer vacation, 6 weeks of review was required in the new school year to make up for the education loss over the summer vacation.
The National Association of Year-Round Education has produced a plan that redistributes the 180 school days and budjet over the whole year. Summer vacation would only be the month of July and days-off and optional days-off would be distributed throughout the rest of the year. The Teachers Union is the opposition to the yearround plan. Her object is to convince the teachers and public to try a year-round pilot in a Montgomery school.
Reggie Mark-Hansen has a recessed red-head gene from his Great-Great-Grandfather Hansen from Scandinavia and is from the Republic of Ghana (West Africa between Ivory Coast and Togo).
Ghana was under British control from 1874 to 1957 and became a Constitutional Republic in 1961. Ghana is non-aligned with English as an official language, and a free market economy that is growing at 7%. Reggie’s father was a band leader and mother a tough-love hostess. Reggie graduated from college in ’89 and has worked in HR (human resources) Management for oil companies in Ghana and the US.
He plans to start his own HR firm and says the object is to make the employees the best they can be. The Rotary Four way Test is the best business code. He has been married for 17 years.
